How Tanishq reinvented the purchase journey for digital hybrids

The distinct shift in Tanishq’s marketing strategy, and the purchase journey of digital hybrids is touched upon by Arun Narayan & Ranjani Krishnaswamy, who talk about the representation of jewellery for the contemporary consumer.

The INR 1,100 crore omnichannel sales of Tanishq are expected to double in 2023. With a substantial chunk of lead generation occurring online for the brand, digital continues to be a significant driver of commerce. The marketing front runners unravel the contemporary consumer of jewellery and the journey of discovery to purchase through content, conversations, and commerce.

Arun Narayan, Vice President - Category, Marketing & Retail, Tanishq, and Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager - Marketing, The Titan Company from the senior leadership of the Tanishq marketing team discuss insights of the changing marketing strategy and the new consumer that starts a purchase journey from a digital environment and concludes it in a physical store.

Brand Communications Strategy 

Tanishq brand communications have always represented the modern woman, but in settings that bring out the traditional side of her. Most of the communications around product placements or experiences have been woven into the ritualistic fabric. But since last year’s product launch towards the end of the year, the campaigns and the social media strategy have been rerouted to a divergent path.

Discussing the newfangled approach Arun Narayan, Vice President - Category, Marketing & Retail, Tanishq mentioned every year new collections are launched that takes the narrative forward, in terms of the kind women can relate to, design, and craftsmanship.

"In our understanding of consumers, we felt that there is a certain post-COVID expectation that they wanted to break free, experiment, and explore. We felt that since they spent two years being subdued and cooped up, the carnival environment is the diametric opposite of that, where you're celebrating, and you're in a social environment".

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A post shared by Tanishq (@tanishqjewellery)

The radical change is visible in the design and colour schemes across, and also the backdrop in which the human element is present, a variation from the rustic palette to a jubilant tonality. The texture of all visual elements signifies the shift and content concepts at the core have also transformed through the adoption.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager - Marketing, The Titan Company, said it starts with being true to the consumer and being inclusive, and authentic, in presenting personal relationships.

"The brand brings in two factors - the woman and what's important to her, that's how jewellery as a piece of fashion is made relevant. Because the consumer has her familial, societal, and individual role, she also puts herself together. If you put these two pieces together, jewellery becomes the most feminine piece of symbol for her, whether it's in the context of her style, culture, or profession, without any of it being polarized".

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Jewelry is something that talks to you and talks about you.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager - Marketing, The Titan Company

Marking the shift Arun mentions being a brand that has different facets to it, various campaigns and media channels are leveraged differently. Ranjani adds to the thought saying the consumer gives the license to do that. The distinctive fabric of a female in different settings naturally provides that space for the brand. 

Their long-running campaign, Colour Me Joy, marks a distinct shift in the tonality of Tanishq, transforming from the traditional charisma of contemporary characters to glamorous elegance in an upbeat spectacle.

Reflecting the mood of the latest collection, the campaign is brimming with vibrancy and bold colours. The main campaign film, along with supporting elements in the short video and static format is carved in design templates inspired by the recognisable traits of a carnival. The symphony of colours, karigari of the delicate pieces are presented in relatable settings with women in the celebratory backdrop letting their hair down and having a joyful time.

Talking about the tonality of the campaign, Arun stated that typically diamonds are seen as a serious kind of a category and this was bringing fun into it, and it also builds on the favorable response from the first edit. "We decided to come back in a bolder way, so this collection is more vibrant, and a little edgier also".

Remarking on the promotional aspect of the campaign, he outlined three elements that support the campaign - Design, Ingredients, and Presentation. The presentation is where the design and ingredients are at the forefront, and where the inspiration comes alive.

Also Read: #BrandSaga: Titan – Timeless Watches, Timeless Ads

Digital v/s Offline Or Digital > Offline 

Since the pandemic digital consumption of products and services has taken over a substantial share of brick-and-mortar retail stores. While recent reports have shown a jump in physical sales, there has been an inherent change in consumer inclinations wherein one part of the purchase journey is digital, and the other part is physical. Especially for jewelry, a premium category of products that consumers may discover and research, but would like to touch, see, and feel before buying. 

Resolving the dilemma of digital v/s offline, Arun says "I don't think consumers are seeing it that way. We want to put consumers in buckets but if the consumers are able to visualize it, and if it really creates a desire, then they want it right away. If the consumers are given a frictionless mechanism to buy, then the outlet would not fret over, and they would buy it right then and there. But if they're not able to visualize it, they want that touch & feel, and the human interface that Indians are generally inclined to, they would go to a store nearby".

He adds that during the pandemic perhaps the natural thing was reaching for their phone and gaining more information, rarely would they call up and say tell me about the product. These days consumers do their research before walking into the store, they watch reviews, talk to their friends and check out the product on multiple platforms.

Ranjani reckoned that currently, we're looking at digital hybrids and not digital natives.

The brand's category spans many life stages, demographics, and psychographics. The hybrids are exploring and discovering products on virtual platforms. They're in touch with the medium but not totally comfortable. "So they might look at a picture on WhatsApp when an artist uploads it, and they get a sense of how it will look for them. Then shortlist some images they could buy from the store".

"When it comes to a brand like ours which goes across various styles of cities and towns, we are very mindful about being adaptable as an ecosystem. There's a traditional journey, a pure e-commerce journey, and then there is one that starts in a digital environment and ends in a physical store. So we're ready for all of this. I think we ourselves are learning because we've always been largely brick-and-mortar route. So our journey digital is something that we want and we'd like to take leaps between the hybrids and the natives. We're equipping ourselves for all these three journeys.

The Social Media Play

Describing the role of social media platforms in the purchase journey, Ranjani mentioned few of the primary focal points on social media are nurturing inbound leads such as queries in direct messages, growing the community, and keeping them engaged. She explains the brand looks at social media as a positive way to build conversations and put out content on those conversations, it gives the whole gamut of things. 

For instance, 'Marriage Conversations' is a long format video that is themed around the difficult conversations that a couple needs to have before getting married. These stories are appreciated by the consumers and it is a  critical piece of the strategy she adds. The two parts of this campaign have garnered an estimate of 7 Mn views collectively (to date), and the campaign also managed to trigger conversations, as viewers took to the comments section to share their own views and experiences, few also appreciating the brand’s integration of such conversations that are either relatable or desirable.

The platforms also enable the brand to know if the consumers are seeing and appreciating the content, and also if they respond t the emotional traction. "From content to conversations to commerce, it gives you a whole gamut of things.

Social media is a business strategy, I won't even say it's a marketing strategy for us.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager - Marketing, The Titan Company

Learnings & Best Practices

Ranjani & Arun share their learnings from the past year.

• It's important to have consistent brand personalities, the brand personality requires constant caring and funding
• Partner with the consumer as they segway through their journey
• There is a certain relevance and identity that the customers are looking for. It's very important to almost seem that you're having a one-on-one conversation and it is difficult because it is fundamentally one-to-many.
• How do you bring in far more personalization? How do you bring in more knowledge? What can you put out there that will resonate? These are a few questions you constantly need to ask.
• Try to solve and not sell